One More Night
by futilethewinds
Summary: AU where Emma and Regina have superpowers and are drawn to each other, but end up on opposite sides of a superhuman conflict. Named after the Maroon 5 song.


Accidents can be a lot of things. Tragic, sure. But also, sometimes, miraculous. The accident that made Regina different from everyone else was both. She lost her mother, Cora. Sure, her mother was a bitch, but Regina still loved her, and she was all Regina had, really. Cora, in her own dysfunctional way, loved her, too. Cora died of radiation poisoning when exposed to nuclear waste in the water supply, as so many others did, but for some reason, Regina didn't die with her. Instead, she changed.

Regina had become a night owl since the spill. Something about the darkness soothed her, like she belonged there. She sometimes thought she saw her mother's face in the moon. It made her think her mother was watching her, still. If she were living, she would have plenty of criticism, but Regina hoped she had found peace in death. Regina was trying. Trying to find a way to live, totally alone in the world. She found that the oceans waves rose and sank in sync with her tears falling onto the sand, which was somehow calming, comforting even, like nature understood her, even if no one else did.

Regina felt like she had been pulled here by outside forces. She could have resisted, but she didn't really have anything better to do. Whatever this force was, she had felt it before. It wanted her to use her newfound abilities. She ignored it when she thought she might be exposed, because being locked up in a lab somewhere could actually make her life worse, but it helped a little to help others here and there. Tonight, however, was different. There were no cries for help. Further down the beach, there was a blonde doing some kind of karate. The mysterious force that brought Regina to this beach urged her to go towards this woman.

Regina looked up at the sky. "Look, I don't know who you are or what your game is. Why should I go talk to that woman? I don't know her. She's clearly not in any danger. From the looks of things, she can take care of herself." The pull got stronger. "Fine, fine, I'm going."

Regina approached the woman slowly. "Hey," she said nervously. "Whatcha doing there?"

"Just practicing. I could use a partner."

"Oh, well, I don't know about all that. I don't have any, uh, training. I just sort of wing it, you know." Regina's eyes scanned the woman's form, her flattering white tank top and yoga pants, and she forgot what she was saying. "Oh, I'm Regina, by the way. What's your name?"

"Emma," said the blonde. "Emma Swan. I should get back to the hotel, actually, my son's waiting for me. Nice meeting you." She held her hand out.

Regina gladly shook it, but she held it for a little too long and got flustered. "Uh, okay. Have a good night."

Emma turned to walk away, but then paused and looked back. "Hey, I'm not normally so friendly with strangers, but would you like a drink? I'll just put Henry to bed first. Come on, I'll give you a ride."

Regina surprised herself by saying, "Well, um… that sounds... great, actually." Who was this woman, anyway? What was it about her that caused Regina to lose her cool and fumble over her words? She was beautiful, sure, but there was something else. Cora had always taught Regina to be refined, elegant, and here she was a bumbling fool in front of a stranger. _I'm sorry, Mother,_ she thought.

When they got to the hotel, Emma led Regina to the elevator. Regina wished she could think of something interesting to say. What came out was, "So, you like karate?"

"That was actually tai chi. Usually it's done slowly for meditative purposes, but when it's done quickly, it can be a lethal martial art."

Regina blushed a little. "Oh. I didn't know that. You looked... " she tried to think of a word. "Skilled," she decided. "How long have you been practicing?"

"Eleven years," said Emma. "I started while I was pregnant."

Regina tried to conceal her surprise. "You can… do that? While you're pregnant?"

"I started out slow and built my way up. It's a good workout. I could show you some if you want." Emma offered, raising an eyebrow.

"Heh. Well… maybe, I uh, will take you up on that." Regina looked away. The elevator dinged and the doors opened.

"Follow me," said Emma. "This way."

When they got to the door to the room, Emma got out her key. "Stay out here. If Henry knows I'm with a friend, he'll want to stay up all night with us. Kids, you know. I'll just be a few minutes."

When Emma came back out of the hotel room, she smiled at Regina warmly. "He's all tucked in. Doesn't guarantee he's going to actually sleep, but I think the z's will catch up to him soon. Come on, there's a bar downstairs open all night. First round's on me."

As they took the elevator back down, Regina wondered what she had gotten herself into. She was used to staying up nights, but drinking with a stranger was a new one. Maybe alcohol resistance was one of her newfound powers. That would probably be good, because alcohol typically made Regina… flirty, at best. At worst, desperate.

When they got to the bar, Regina was relieved to see no one else was already there. She ordered an appletini. Emma ordered a glass of whiskey on the rocks. _That's not feminine at all. What do they call that? Butch,_ Regina thought. _But she doesn't look manly. She looks like a woman. With that golden fleece and porcelain skin. And a smile that could light up a room. She makes me feel… something. Something new._

"So,' Emma said, "What do you do? For a living, I mean?"

Regina looked away as she sipped her appletini. "Well, I haven't worked for a long time. Nothing, I guess."

Emma took a gulp of whiskey. "Okay, what did you do when you did work?"

"I played cello. Since I was four, actually. My mom made me take lessons, and my teacher said I was a protege. I used to perform all over the world."

Emma finished her glass and asked for another. She turned to Regina and said, with real empathy, "That sounds amazing. What would make you quit doing something like that?"

Regina's throat tightened. _No,_ she thought. _I will not cry in front of this… Emma person._ "I lost somebody."

Emma put her hand on Regina's back, in what was meant to be a comforting gesture, but it sparked something in Regina. Regina felt her face get hot, and hoped she wasn't turning red. Emma spoke to her softly. "Someone you loved. I lost someone, too. I still think about her sometimes."

Regina finished her appletini. She ordered a hard apple cider next. "I like apples," she said defensively.

"Okay, okay, I'm not judging," said Emma, chuckling. "So, are you going to tell me what you were doing alone on that beach in the middle of the night?"

"It's hard to explain. You'll probably think I'm crazy or like, really new agey or something." Regina sipped her cider.

"These days, I don't think I have room to call anybody else crazy, things I've done, things I've seen." Emma gulped down some more whiskey.

"You sound like an interesting person. Let's talk about you. What do you do for a living, Miss Swan?" Regina countered.

Emma shook her head. "Don't go changing the subject, Regina. What were you doing on that beach all by your lonesome?" Emma nudged Regina gently. "Come on, you can tell me."

Regina took a deep breath. "Okay. Sometimes, I feel drawn to… people, places. Like they're a giant magnet and I'm some kind of metal getting pulled into them. First I was pulled to the beach, then to you. I don't know why, it's just how things are with me."

Emma sat up straight for the first time, her face serious. "Is this a joke? Did somebody pay you? Who was it?"

"What? No, I'm telling you the truth. That's how it happened."

Emma stood up, slamming the last of her whiskey. "Who are you? Stay away from me. Stay away from my son. I never want to see you again, you hear me? If I see you again, we're going to have a confrontation, and believe me, you don't want that."

Emma stormed away, leaving Regina confused and wondering what went wrong.


End file.
